Desk attachment

ABSTRACT

An L-shaped plastic article which, in practice, fits along a desk edge, and which has the longer panel or leg thereof extending onto the desk writing surface. When, as is commonly done, the party working at the desk assumes a relaxed position with his legs crossed and his feet supported in elevated position on the desk, advantageous use is then made of the panel on the writing surface as the location for the user&#39;&#39;s feet, said panel preventing marring and soiling of the desk&#39;&#39;s surface.

United States Patent 1 Glickman Oct. 28, 1975 DESK ATTACHMENT [22]Filed: Nov. 25, 1974 [21] Appl. No.: 526,809

[52] US. Cl. 312/229; 248/345.1; 108/90 [51] Int. Cl. A47B 95/00; A471313/08 [58] Field of Search 312/229, 277; 108/161, 108/27, 90; 248/3451[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 371,507 10/1887 Knaggs108/90 2,076,094 4/1937 Rippel 108/90 2,564,386 8/1951 Webb 248/34512,603,909 7/1952 Pettibone 248/3451 2,901,861 9/1959 Oakes 108/90 Bright248/3451 Brown et a1. 248/345.]

Primary Examiner-Paul R. Gilliam Assistant Examiner-Victor N. SakranAttorney, Agent, or Firm-Bauer & Amer [5 7] ABSTRACT An L-shaped plasticarticle which, in practice, fits along a desk edge, and which has thelonger panel or leg thereof extending onto the desk writing surface.When, as is commonly done, the party working at the desk assumes arelaxed position with his legs crossed and his feet supported inelevated position on the desk, advantageous use is then made of thepanel on the writing surface as the location for the users feet, saidpanel preventing marring and soiling of the desks surface.

. 1 Claim, 3 Drawing Figures DESK ATTACHMENT The present inventionrelates to an article useful as an attachment to a desk, the same, moreparticularly, being effective to prevent marring and soiling of the desktop.

Underlying the present invention is the recognition that those who workat desks often break the tedium of their work with a relaxed position inwhich their legs are crossed and are supported in an elevated positionon the desk, and that adequate provision should, and can be made toallow for this relaxed position without marring or soiling of the desktop. Presently, the desk top is used as a foot support in the situationindicated, and during normal usage as a work area, with no effort madeto prevent the former use from adversely affecting the latter use.

Broadly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a plasticattachment for a desk that is readily installed thereon to protect thedesk surface, and as a result overcoming the aforementioned and othershortcomings of the prior art. Specifically, it is an object to providea desk top cover selectively positionable along the desk edge that canadvantageously be used as a footrest or support.

A desk attachment for protecting the desk top against marring or thelike when the user places or rests his feet on the desk, and whichdemonstrates objects and advantages of the present invention includes apanel with opposite flat surfaces having an operative position on saiddesk with one said flat surface thereof in contact with said writingsurface at a location convenient for placement by the user of his feeton top of said other flat surface thereof, and a lip extending independing relation from an edge of said panel having an operativeposition in holding contact against said peripheral edge of said deskbody, whereby said lip minimizes inadvertent movement of said panelinwardly of said desk writing surface and thus out of its propersupporting position beneath the users feet.

The above brief description, as well as further objects, features andadvantages of the present invention, will be more fullyappreciated byreference to the following detailed description of a presentlypreferred, but nonetheless illustrative embodiment in accordance withthe present invention, when taken in conjunction with the accompanyingdrawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view illustrating the contemplated use of thedesk attachment hereof;

FIG. 2 is a side elevational view thereof; and

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the attachment, in an upside downposition, to better illustrate the adhesive surface thereof forconnecting it to the top of the desk.

Shown in the drawings is a plastic article of manufacture, generallydesignated 10, which, according to the present invention, is used as asupport beneath the crossed legs or feet 12, 14 of the user to preventthe user, when assuming this common relaxed position, from marring thewriting surface 16 of the desk 18.

Structurewise, the plastic unit 10, in a preferred form as illustratedin FIGS. 2, 3, includes a rectangular shaped panel 20, approximately 7/2 by 3% inches. This size in the panel 20 has been found in practice tobe adequate as an underlying support for the crossed legs of the user.In practice, the users feet l2, 14 are placed in contact with theexposed flat surface 22 of panel 20, while the other flat surface 24thereof is in contact with the desk top. Advantageously', surface 24 hasan adhesive coating 26 applied to it which is exposed for use uponremoval of a backing sheet 28. The adhesive coating 26 provides anadhesive connection for the desk attachment 10 at the interface of thesurface 26 with the portion of the writing surface 16 beneath thissurface.

Despite this adhesive connection, or if the attachment 10 is usedwithout an adhesive coating 26, there may be undesirable movement ofpanel 20 inwardly of the writing surface 16 as a result of the userchanging from, and back into, the relaxed position illustrated inphantom perspective in FIG. 1. Thus, to prevent this undesirablemovement in panel 20, said panel is provided with a depending lip 30formed integral along one edge of the panel, said lip having anoperative position, as illustrated in FIGS. ll, 2, in which it extendsalong and in holding contact against the desk surface or edge 32 whichdefines one side of the writing surface 16. Preferably, lip 30 is onlyan inch and a quarter wide so that it does not interfere with the use ofthe desk 18, such as the opening and closing of the desk drawer 34.Also, it is most desirable to use a clear plastic as the fabricationmaterial of the desk attachment 10 so as to minimize its presence in itsaforementioned operative position on the desk.

From the foregoing it should be readily appreciated that there has beendescribed herein a novel article of manufacture having significantutility as a convenience product for executives and others normallyworking at a desk. The convenience it contributes to, as describedherein, is to facilitate, as is commonly done, a relaxed position forsaid executives in which their feet are crossed and placed at anelevated position supported on the top of the desk. Preparatory toassuming this position, device 10 is placed in its FIG. 1 operativeposition which is along one of the desk edges which bound the desksurface or writing area 16. From this location, the device 10 is ofcourse within convenient reach of the user seated behind the desk. Sincethe panel 20 occupies an interposed position between the users feet andthe writing surface 16, it effectively prevents marring or soiling ofthe surface 16. Naturally, when the entire desk writing surface must beused, device 10 is readily removed from its operative position and anyportion of the adhesive which inadvertently remains on the surface 16 iswiped therefrom.

A latitude of modification, change and substitution is intended in theforegoing disclosure, and in some instances some features of theinvention will be employed without a corresponding use of otherfeatures. Accordingly, it is appropriate that the appended claims beconstrued broadly and in a manner consistent with the spirit and scopeof the invention herein.

What is claimed is:

1. In combination, a desk having a body presenting a writing surfacewithin the confines of peripheral edges bounding said desk body, and anattachment for said desk for allocating a portion of said writingsurface to use as a footrest without marring said writing surface, saidattachment comprising a rectangular clear plastic panel with oppositetop and bottom flat surfaces having an operative position on said deskwith said bottom flat surface thereof in contact with said writingsurface at a location between opposite corners of said desk body andalong a front peripheral edge thereof so as to be convenient forplacement by the user of his feet on top of said top flat surfacethereof, an adhesive coat on said bottom flat surface for achieving anadhesive connection of said surface to said desk body, and a lipextending in depending relation from an edge of said panel having anoperative position in holding contact against said front peripheral edgeof said desk body, said rectangular panel being of a size adequate tooccupy an interposed position between the feet of the

1. In combination, a desk having a body presenting a writing surfacewithin the confines of peripheral edges bounding said desk body, and anattachment for said desk for allocating a portion of said writingsurface to use as a footrest without marring said writing surface, saidattachment comprising a rectangular clear plastic panel with oppositetop and bottom flat surfaces having an operative position on said deskwith said bottom flat surface thereof in contact with said writingsurface at a location between opposite corners of said desk body andalong a front peripheral edge thereof so as to be convenIent forplacement by the user of his feet on top of said top flat surfacethereof, an adhesive coat on said bottom flat surface for achieving anadhesive connection of said surface to said desk body, and a lipextending in depending relation from an edge of said panel having anoperative position in holding contact against said front peripheral edgeof said desk body, said rectangular panel being of a size adequate tooccupy an interposed position between the feet of the user, in crossedrelation, and said desk writing surface and wherein said lip minimizesinadvertent movement of said panel inwardly of said desk writing surfaceand thus out of its proper supporting position beneath the user''s feet.